Karlie Cummins is not the spectator type. She doesn’t like sitting on the sideline and watching while others play the game, especially when her athletic future is at stake.

The North Farmington High School senior and three-sport athlete had some anxious moments more than a year ago, thinking she might get passed over in the recruiting process.

A high-level soccer player, Cummins was injured early in her junior year and was unable to do anything about it during her club team’s fall season.

“All my friends were getting recruited,” she said. “I was just sitting on the sideline with my crutches and not really getting very far. I kind of freaked out a little bit and didn’t think college soccer was going to happen.”

All the while, Cummins had an ace card to play, an in-house counselor offering good advice.

It was her dad, Rick Cummins, a former college athlete and Wayne State University coach with years of experience in such matters.

“I told him what I was looking for in a college, and he helped me make a list of schools since he’s been all over the place and seen tons of campuses.”

Cummins sent a lot of emails to college coaches and drew some interest from Lewis University, an NCAA Division II school outside of Chicago.

“The coach didn’t get an opportunity to see me play, so I went and practiced with their team,” Cummins said. “I felt like I fit in. The coach liked what he saw. I talked it over with my parents and decided that’s where I wanted to be.”

Cummins’ forte – and not just in soccer – is defense. She expects to be a center back for the Flyers, although she is an all-state midfielder for the Raiders.

“They might throw me into the midfield, but I think I’ll be mostly a center back,” she said. Wherever I’m going to be able to get playing time, that’s where I want to play.”

Cummins plays defense for the elite Michigan Hawks club program, too, but she became a midfielder early in her high school career.

“We had a ton of defenders my freshman year,” she said. “(Coach Tim) Russell said, ‘You’re not a defender; you’re a midfielder,’ so I started playing midfielder.

“It works on our high school team. We have good defenders, so they don’t really need me in the back.”

All over the field

As a midfielder, Cummins primary role is to distribute the ball and support the forwards, affording her the opportunity to play defense and offense.

That suits her just fine because she’s always in the middle of the action.

“I like seeing the whole field from the center-back position,” she said, “but midfield is nice because you go up and get involved in the attack. You do get the best of both worlds as a midfielder.”

Cummins even has a knack for scoring goals on set pieces such as penalty kicks and free kicks, which is why Russell has her in that role. At last count, she had eight goals this season.

“I’ve been trying to hit it low and keep it on frame,” Cummins said. “They’ve been going in, so it’s been working for us.”

Skills apply to hoops

But she understands the importance of defense, and it would be fine with her if she was a defender only.

Cummins applied those skills to basketball, too. As a tenacious defender in that sport, she helped the Raiders win the OAA White Division championship earlier this year.

“I think I got my basketball defense from playing soccer,” Cummins said, adding she had never played basketball until her freshman year.

“I went out mostly because they didn’t have enough girls to make a freshman team. It was like, ‘Oh, sure, I’ll try it. Why not?’ I really enjoyed it.

“I’m not a very good shooter for basketball. I was on the court to defend, so that was my role. I got that by being able to see the court, and I got that from soccer.”

Benefits of soccer

A four-year varsity starter for the Raiders, Cummins began playing soccer in the Farmington recreation program 13 years ago and has been with the Hawks for the last 10. It’s the perfect sport for someone like Cummins, who likes being on the go.

“Soccer is a very active sport,” she said. “It’s something I can do with my friends outside of just hanging out.

“It relieves stress. When I’m on the field, I don’t really think about everything going on in my life. It’s just soccer and it’s in the moment.”

Two of Cummins’ best friends on the North team are fellow seniors and tri-captains Erin Bahm and Tyler Hammaren, both of whom are four-year varsity players, too.

Title time nears

The Raiders, who entered the season with high expectations, are 10-4 overall and 4-2 in the rugged OAA Red Division, following a 2-0 loss Monday to host Troy Athens.

North is done with division play and could gain a share of the championship, depending on how other teams finish up.

The Raiders can maintain possession of the FPS trophy with a victory Friday night at Harrison, and they’re looking forward to the district tournament at Novi after that.

“I think it’s pretty special. Every year I’ve been part of this team, we’ve had some sort of championship whether it be a city, league or district,” Cummins said.

“The district championship my freshman year was very special to me, because we came in as underdogs and ended up winning. We went to a shootout in the semifinal game, and (Russell) chose me to take one of the penalty kicks.

“This year, hopefully, we’re going to do well and have some good memories to leave senior year with.”

Raiders united

Cummins believes the Raiders have the potential to do well at the end of the season, adding she hasn’t played in a district final in three years. North just missed last year, losing 1-0 to Brighton in a semifinal game.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the district,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll be playing our best soccer at that time, and it will help us go far into the tournament.”

One thing the Raiders have on their side is camaraderie and team unity, according to Cummins.

“I think our team enjoys being around each other, not just the seniors but everyone,” she said. “Any time girls are close on a team, the team tends to play better on the field.

“We’re good friends outside of soccer. It just helps that we play well together on the field and are good friends off the field.”

It worked out well

Looking ahead to college, Cummins is considering a degree in the medical field and chose Lewis in part because of its related programs.

Cummins is a scholar-athlete in all of her sports, boasting a 3.92 GPA and having received academic scholarships as well as athletic. She’s also the National Honor Society secretary and senior class treasurer.

Cummins gave up volleyball as a junior due to a conflict with club soccer. Not wanting to be a spectator, she took up cross country and instantly became the team’s top runner.

“I like to stay busy and in shape,” she said. “I started running cross country, because I just couldn’t sit around and only play soccer.”

But the running also led to a stress fracture, which put Cummins on the sideline during her club soccer season that fall.

“Things happen for a reason, but it all ended up working out,” she said.